The Cold Metal Box
by Kyouka Natsuki
Summary: Both coming from families with high expecations, Kagome and Sesshoumaru find a certain reliability about each other. As they come to spend more time together, they realize the most important thing. SessKag.


Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

How It Began

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Pounding footsteps on the pool deck made her jump. They were the foreboding sounds of her impending race. Her heart felt like it was about to burst, and she tried to calm herself. She did not want to swim. Did anyone understand that she did not want to swim? She couldn't stand the pressure. No matter where she turned, it followed her. School, homework, tests, parents, relationships, and this highly competitive sport confined her to a cold metal cell, where she was slowly suffocating, straining under the immense stress of it all. Instead of storming away like she had always been tempted to do (and did not have enough guts to follow through with), she took the inevitable steps forward to the diving block. At the loud signal, she flew off the blocks, and focused her mind, forcing her mind to force her body to work. It was a never-ending cycle of forcing herself, pushing herself when she could go no more.

She was tired, and weary of it. She detested the coach barking orders at her, the lack of free time and time alone just to contemplate. She hated the smell of chlorine, and the fake smiles of the other girls around her. It was lonely at the top, she had to remind herself. But, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make herself believe thatshe wantedto be where she was today.

Long after the race, she sat staring at the lockers across from the bench she was sitting at, exhausted mentally and physically. "Kagome," A cold voice made its appearance in the form of an old austere woman "Congratulations, you made the top ten in the country."

Although it was an announcement that should have contained joy and cheer, the way the woman said it was painfully unemotional. It did not evoke a special pride in the girl or a feeling of accomplishment. She did as she was supposed to though. She lowered her head in a small, polite bow, and left her grandmother in the change room.

Right outside of the door of the change room, she saw a young man standing. He was dressed very formally in a business suit. "Good afternoon," he said politely.

It was then, that she realized here was not the pool deck. She was in the outside world. Here, in her swimsuit, she was self-conscious once more. Since he had overdressed, and she was underdressed, the contrast was enough for her to shy away from the young man. "Hello," she replied as cordially as she could, while wrapping the towel around her. She was about to walk away, when he spoke again.

"I am Sesshoumaru Nakaharu, and I am here on behalf of the Nakaharu family."

She was _not _surprised by this news. She cast her eyes away from him. It was another arranged marriage, she thought disappointedly. Her grandmother was obsessed with the idea of marrying her off to a rich family, but she had wanted to marry for love ever since she was a little girl, as soon as her mother started to tell her stories to get her to sleep. "I am sorry. On the behalf of the Higurashi family, I will have to object."

She was ready to leave, but stopped in her tracks, when he said something unexpected. "I did not say I wanted marry you. If anything, I would have to deem you worthy of such an honour to introduce the notion of an arranged marriage. I was merely here to discuss the issue with your grandmother. Now that I have seen you, I will have to stop her half-crazed ideas of marriage with a creature such as yourself."

She should have gotten angry. She should have said something un-ladylike and then she should have stomped away angrily, but she smiled. Kagome Higurashi was genuinely amused.

She faced him again, and said they would have to meet some other time and discuss it. She said that he could maybe come over to their house later in the day and have a chat over dinner. She smiled again, something she could not contain, because she wanted to believe he was different. Because she knew he had to be different.

She watched as he suddenly agreed, after his tirade, held out his hand, not in a friendly way, but as if it were a sort of agreement that would hold her to her word.

-

-

Over dinner, both families were to discuss the issue of the potential marriage. It was a civilized and very formal affair. As everyone got settled down in their own seats, they all turned to the large staircase, watching Kagome descend the steps. The attention was all on her. She was wearing a shimmering green strapless gown that hugged her waist and flowed to the area just above her ankles. She did not where any jewellery, except for a silver pendant that complemented the metallic green of her dress. Her hair was naturally wavy, and was clipped up in a half ponytail. The audience watched in awe as if a goddess descended upon them. Kagome was never pretty, but here, and now, they couldn't help thinking she was past beautiful.

Sesshoumaru was quite shocked at her drastically altered appearance, but hid it well. Pulling out her chair for her to sit, he whispered in her ear, "Your beauty captivates all your dinner guests tonight- including me." Kagome blushed hard. No one had ever said something like that before to her.

The man at the other end of the table (Kagome deduced it was Sesshoumaru's father, Inutaisho) stood up and began a small speech. "Today, we bring together two families in hopes of uniting two very talented young people. If everything goes as planned, I am willing to give the hand of my son to your daughter. I am willing to pass the legacy of the Nakaharus to the Higurashis. Even though money and society separate us, I believe that this will be successful. The Higurashis are an esteemed family, and we will be proud to create this union."

Everyone clapped politely. As the clapping subsided, Kagome's grandmother announced a speech similar to Inutaisho's. Then, the appetizers were taken out, served by the waiters. Kagome turned her attention to the man sitting beside her. "Sesshoumaru, what school do you attend?"

As he replied with one of the wealthiest schools in the country, Kagome started to wonder how her grandmother had even proposed the union. He was out of her league with his family's prestigious past and old money.

As if reading her mind, he answered her thoughts. "If you are wondering how my father accepted your grandmother's plea, it is a secret." He lowered his voice. "I had the impression it had to do with blackmail." His eyes flashed dangerously.

Kagome wasn't surprised that her grandmother would do such a thing. Her grandmother had always been satisfied stooping to such a low level to create a good name for their family. What had really surprised her was that she knew she had felt a darker side of Sesshoumaru, and that he barely tried to hide the enmity he had towards her family. Calling her grandmother's proposal a 'plea' was a bit below the belt, but she would take it in stride. He looked down upon her. It did impress her that on some level, he could fool both families and her when he started to lie. His words could be so saccharine, as if they were dripping with honey, yet suddenly, he could become so…intense.

"She is a bit unreasonable at times. If you want to, I can object to the proposal…again," she added.

He must have sensed the edge in her words, because he chuckled. She 'hmphed' and then turned to the other person sitting beside her who was Sesshoumaru's great aunt (who she discovered was a tad loopy), but anything was better than talking to someone who had no manners.

Unfortunately, a few minutes later, _someone_ tapped her on the shoulder. She was still angry from what he had said before, and replied with a loud and irritated, "What?"

She did not notice that the table had fallen silent, and that almost everyone was looking at her with wide eyes. To her chagrin, Sesshoumaru continued as if it were normal, making him seem as if everything was normal. "We were just talking about the wedding. Everyone would like to know what your favourite colour, so that we can establish a colour theme."

Kagome gritted her teeth and managed to say, "green."

"Thank you". He then turned to the stunned audience, and he started talking, filling the silence.

Suddenly, Sesshoumaru's (batty) great aunt started laughing like a madwoman. Her cackles filled the silent and tense air of the room. Kagome couldn't take the embarrassment anymore. She did not bother to excuse herself, and tore herself away from the table. The chair fell over, and her dress ripped, but she didn't care. She ran towards the secluded balcony that only she had the key to.

Without being told to, like a perfect gentleman, Sesshoumaru quickly followed after Kagome. Just as she was about to shut and lock the door of the balcony, he rushed in, took the key and locked it himself. He blocked the entrance to the door, and slipped the keys into his pocket. Kagome resigned herself to the captor, and walked towards the railing. She leaned onto the railing, looking at the sight below her. The gardens were an Eden. She had made good friends with the gardeners, and loved to take in the sight and scent of the plants all around her. She personally tended to a lot of the gardens whenever she could.

"I don't know why, but you bring out the worst in me." She scoffed. "I'm supposed to be the perfect lady, but, somehow, I want to yell at you and I start acting more impulsively…which leads to me acting klutzy." She smiled at the thought.

"-and like an idiot," he added.

She rolled her eyes. "That too."

She did not hear him say anything more, but suddenly felt his arms around her. He had leant against the railing like she had, his arms on either side of her body. The front of his body was in very close proximity to her back. She did not move, but her heart was beating faster. Now, she had to admit he was handsome, and when tall handsome men suddenly become so intimately close, she couldn't help but feel speechless, at least for a moment. Fortunately, she did not need to fill the silence.

His long silver hair, mingled with her black hair, as the wind blew softly over them. "This marriage will only work if we agree to work together, so we have to play the part as lovingly as we can."

She turned her head and looked into his eyes with alarm. Those so-called loving eyes were making her sick, now that he had revealed some sort of ploy. But, she consented. "I agree. I think this marriage will be beneficial. My grandmother has always wanted such a union. Although I do not know how she came about it, I should be grateful for this opportunity." She would have to break that promise to her mother. She couldn't marry for love. There would be no one for her that would love her, and she would not love him. She was satisfied with this, and if she could finally please her grandmother, she would be eternally thankful, no matter what hardships she had to pull herself through.

His voice turned as quick as lightning to steel. "To be frank, I see many more arguments in the future."

Kagome snorted. "You don't need a crystal ball to see that. I know this might sound weird, but if I grew up in an average family, I would never have envisioned myself achieving so much." She smiled as if nostalgia flooded back to her. "I would have been one of those girls who had trouble with English and Math, who skipped school to tend to her sick brother…I would have been more clumsy, happy, carefree, and naïve. I still always feel that this is not who I want to be, or who I was meant to be." She wanted to add, "Most importantly, if I was normal, I wouldn't be in this marriage situation with you …" but remained silent.

"You thrive well under pressure. Pressure has not broken you, but pushed you. You are one of the top swimmers in the country, your IQ is well above the norm and so are your grades, you have made alliances among the wealthy, and you join many other extra-curricular activities. As for that nonsense about who you are, it is irrelevant. Think about the present, and who you want to become. Do not dwell on what things would have been. I know your parents died when you were young, and your grandmother has been enforcing the rules in your family since then. She does put a lot of pressure on you, but it has been proven that it holds good results." The deep baritone voice directly behind her, made these words echo in her head.

Kagome gaped, her back still against him, and did not say anything for quite a while. How did he know so much about her? She promised herself she would find out more about him later. Her parents… "Your information is correct. My parents died when I was little. It is not well known information that a man who had stalked my mother had killed them both and then himself when it proved too much for him that my mother was definitely not going to part from her family. He was obsessed over my mother's beauty, and sometimes I think, he loved my mother's kindness. You know, I still remember how she looked. She was the most beautiful woman in the world. Whenever I try to remember her, I get the feeling of loving her to pieces," she said wistfully. She loved her caring parents. Even though she was little at the time, she had many memories of them.

It was quiet again, and then he spoke. "My mother died when I was young as well. She was a good person who I respected very much."

Kagome did not ask how she died, but kept the information to herself. Already figuring out he was a man of little words, she appreciated the little that he said about his mother. "You know, if I tell you now that you do not have to succumb to my grandmother's blackmail, whatever it may be, will you withdraw your marriage proposal?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head in a firm negative, and said, "No."

Kagome whipped around to face him, not daunted by the fact that he was close enough that she could feel his breath on her. "I know I am not someone you would ever like to be around, so I can't help but be curious. What is the alternative if you do not marry me? I can tell you're eager. Without the pressure of blackmail, who or what is pushing you into this marriage?"

It was his turn to fall silent, and he pulled his body away from hers. Ignoring her questions, he said, "It is time to return to the dinner." He pulled the key out of his pocket, and unlocked the door. He stopped his actions midway as if he had forgotten to tell her something of the utmost importance. "Oh, there is one last thing that you should know before we get married."

"I despise humans," he said with an underlying menace. When he exited, she was once again, alone, and very much confused.

-

-

Just know that Kagome is feeling a lot of pressure, because this is not the type of person she is. In the anime, she is carefree, and only has the slight pressure of finding jewel shards. School doesn't even matter. (she's always skipping)I know the characters sound a bit ooc right now, but I'm thinking it will change…hopefully. Things should lighten up from here on out.

-

-Kyouka Natsuki


End file.
